Tuesday, June 14, 2016

The Digital Platform Focuses on News and Social Media for African-Americans

LOS ANGELES, June 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Entertainment Studios, Inc., (www.es.tv) one of the largest independent producers and distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations, and owner of seven 24-hour HD cable television networks (PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, and JUSTICECENTRAL.TV), proudly announces its acquisition of the New York-based African-American focused digital news platform TheGrio (www.TheGrio.com).

TheGrio - which means 'storyteller' in Africa - is a digital video-centric news community platform providing compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national media outlets. TheGrio's editorial mandate is focused on breaking news, opinion, politics, business, entertainment, health, sports, and events that have a unique interest and/or pronounced impact within the African-American community. TheGrio generates 3 million unique visitors per month, in addition to reaching a highly-engaged social media audience.

"We are excited to have TheGrio join Byron Allen's ever-expanding Entertainment Studios media empire," says David A. Wilson, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of TheGrio. "Byron shares our vision of growing TheGrio into the leading video content creator and distribution platform for African-Americans. We look forward to developing the next iteration of TheGrio, and the fact that it will remain 100 percent African American-owned is very significant."

"David Wilson and his founding partner Dan Woolsey have done an incredible job these past 7 years building TheGrio, and we are one thousand percent committed to continue expanding this digital news community's reach across all global media platforms, including our broadcast television syndication programs, cable television networks, and motion picture division," said Byron Allen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Entertainment Studios. "We plan on investing heavily in digital publishing, and TheGrio has an excellent management team, making it the perfect asset to start our portfolio of online publishing."

About Entertainment Studios

Entertainment Studios, Inc. owns seven 24-hour HD cable networks serving nearly 80 million subscribers: PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, and JUSTICECENTRAL.TV. The company also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 40 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Entertainment Studios provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, multimedia platforms, and the World Wide Web. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners. Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded the company in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Denver, and Raleigh. For more information, visit: www.es.tv

About TheGrio

TheGrio is a digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. TheGrio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles, and blogs on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business, and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. TheGrio eventually became a news division for MSNBC in 2013. In 2014, TheGrio founders purchased their company back from NBC News and has since tripled its traffic rate. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 20 million annual visitors. For more information, visit: www.TheGrio.com